A SHADOW cabinet minister praised an innovative new drug treatment centre in Southport during a fact-finding visit.

Conservative MP Nick Herbert, shadow secretary of state for justice, heard about steps to tackle substance abuse in the resort as he toured the new base of Sefton's Lighthouse Project at 8 Church Street.

Refurbishment at the former GP surgery is now about eight weeks from completion, and its services will soon be expanded to include both support for alcohol misuse and drugs treatment for young people.

Speaking during his visit on Tuesday, Mr Herbert said it was important for him to witness an “important service for the community”.

He said: “From my point of view as shadow justice secretary, there’s a powerful link between criminality and drugs. So it’s very important that we develop policies which succeed in controlling drugs, but which also ensure that for people who enter the criminal justice system, their drug problems are dealt with, whether they are on a community punishment or whether they are in prison.”

Lighthouse Project staff told Mr Herbert of trends including growing crack cocaine use and a rise in the average age of heroin addicts.

The MP for Arundel and South Downs in Sussex stressed that support for treatment initiatives is not a retreat from the need for “tough enforcement” of drugs laws.

He also hit out at Government policy over cannabis, arguing that downgrading it to a Class C substance in 2004 had sent out the “wrong signals” to potential users.

The Lighthouse Project – which is commissioned by the multi-agency Sefton Drugs Action Team – became a focus of complaints from residents when it was temporarily housed on Manchester Road.

Its ongoing move to Church Street was welcomed by Councillor Brenda Porter, prospective Tory MP for Southport, who described having a drugs treatment service in the town as “absolutely imperative”.

Also on the visit was Nick Tissot of Christ Church in Lord Street, who is bidding to bring “street pastor” to help weekend revellers in Southport town centre.

He said: “Being out in the night-time economy, we will see people out there with drug and alcohol problems.”